Advent #2 The Small Signs of God’s Presence
The Epiphany of a Flowering Cactus
During our recent trip to Bolivia we were out hiking in the outback region of Toro Toro and I stumbled (literally) in front of a flowering cactus plant. I marvelled at this strange sight—in the middle of nowhere a giant cactus generating a flower of exquisite beauty! Only a few people were seeing this splash of colour amidst a desert of rocks, cliffs, and vast empty space. But there it was—a sight of rare beauty proclaiming, “See me, and hear me roar!”
Later in the day upon reflection I thought of Henri Nouwen’s insightful words,
I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God’s saving power . . . Our temptation is to be distracted by them . . . When I have no eyes for the small signs of God’s presence—the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends—I will always remain tempted to despair.
His comments stopped me in my tracks. Am I spending too much time looking for big, glossy signs of God’s presence? Maybe a heavenly choir dancing and singing across the Milky Way? Or kings coming from afar with gilded gifts of recognition and thanks? Am I losing an awareness of God’s inspirational nearness in the tiny tokens manifested in daily life? For example, stumbling upon a flowering cactus while gasping for breath on a mountain trail at 10,000 feet!
Yes, I thought, I do need to slow down and welcome the small child of Bethlehem daily. I must give attention to his murmurings in the littleness of life and not get lost in the pursuit of grandiose things.
May we together pause and pray with the prophet from Daybreak,
Today I will look for one small sign that God is present in my daily life. I will give thanks for his presence. If he is absent, I will resolve to find out why.
Amen, Pastor Alan, Amen we need to slow down. And it's true the small details matter even Jesus said faith of a mustard seed and the reward for the talents given. I'm guilty of not slowing down but it's not the heart....it's just distractionws upon distractions..
But we can catch it even upon our busyness. Recently a little girl new to the faith reach out to me as she thinks I would give a good insight ...she is too busy with school and missing her quiet time. Now I'm very guilty here but surprisingly I observed from my current Pastor the same advice and observation you provided......Selah moments.
So I ask her do you believe Jesus is Emmanuel God with us and the Holy Spirit dwells in us .. she said yes ....I said then worship even your school work is service to God. It's school and it's life ...so I'm echoing my advice to her to me. But busyness can derail us but if we know and believe whose we are ....and get encouragement from the kearnt.....we will come see and look what the Lord has done.....Identity in Christ and knowledge of the Father will help secure of .. .we are safe. I love to observe Abba Presence.....🥰 There was spring in the desert result from rain .. a rare moment and I didn't stop to ponder this . ....Isaiah talk about it .....so thank you Pastor Alan......we need to listen and pay attention as Abba do speak everyday and anywhere.....❤️
This is why I enjoy walking, taking the subway and putting my phone away so much! My day is different when I drive, or don't leve my home for the day, etc. Seeing these small beauties is a gift. What it sparks in us is God Himself. Maybe revealing why He put us here and why He does beauty; big and small.
Look at that flower 🌼 🌸